Signing Off and Painful Excuses
by Red 'Allen' Walker
Summary: (MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, HEAVY ANGST, PANIC WARNING) "Not knowing who you kill does not excuse you or ANYONE from MURDER!" In which Madeline Fenton shoots Phantom, not knowing his true identity. In which Amity Park loses a hero/menace.


A/N: This is so fu-freaking **_angsty_**. I may or may not have been having a panic attack when I wrote this. It deals with a **_MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH, LANGUAGE WARNING, DESCRIPTIONS OF STUFF, INJURIES, AND PANIC ATTACKS_**. It also deals with a **_MAJOR CHARACTER HURTING SOMONE_.** If this makes you uncomfortable, **please** go ahead and **click away**. I'm sorry if this sounds offensive or harsh, but being someone who used to panic, I just want to help.

Thunder.

It sounded like thunder, crackling-- splitting the neverending sky.

Only it wasn't.

It was the sound of a supercharged ectoplasmic gun being firing a blast at a hundred miles per hour. It was a blast that was headed right towards Amity Park's hero, also known as ectoplasmic scum.

You would think it was an accidental shot. After all, there had just been a ghost attack with disastrous infrastructural damage. You would think.

But no.

The cheering immediately stopped.

She lowered her gun, which was still emitting smoke. Her gloved fingers drum against the handle. She stance loosened ever the slightest, but still alert. Her index still lingering over the trigger - ready to fire another shot. She was not of tall stature, but from where they saw her, she stood menacingly.

Everyone was silent. Friend or foe, acquiantance or close friends, strangers and not, they stood silent. Half of the crowd felt a small pang of relief at the sight. Half of the crowd felt horror. One felt pride. One teen felt dread.

"Danny!" He drops his weapons. He throws almost all of his possessions as he made a break for the fallen hero. He didn't care that he called him by his first name.

Green.

Oh ghost there was so much green.

And red.

Too much of it.

He tries to put pressure on the wound. But there is only so much you can do with the cavity. He felt his panic rise.

"Tucker, step away from Phantom immediately!"

Tucker, the stubborn child that he is didn't move. Instead, he growled. "Damnit," he cursed, where was Sam when they needed her? He hears the gun flare up once more.

"Tucker, you have to move now! That scum will start attacking us again!" Tucker didn't listen. Danny groaned in pain. Tucker paled as he saw the green slipping out of the halfa's mouth. "Tuck, j-just... just go..."

"Look at him! Mrs. Fenton! He can't fight at this state."

"Exactly. We have to destroy it before--"

"NO!" Everyone flinched at the volume the teen's voice took. "He's not an '_it_', he's not a '_freak'_, he's not a menace either! He _is_ a hero! He is _our_ hero!" Tucker returned to his friend, ignoring how bloody he was. "Danny, come on dude," he asseses the woundsite. It wasn't healing.

"Tuck, it's... it's okay." Phantom hushed in his hoarse voice. Tucker fought back the tears. It was getting harder to see. He ignored Mrs. Fenton's threats in the background. He can do this. He can save Danny. Danny'll survive this. He racks his mind for ideas. His PDA. The Ghost Zone. He filed it im his PDA!

"We have to get you to the Ghost Zone. We'll regain your ectoplasmic levels so you can heal. We just have to--"

"Tuck," Phantom called out, "Tucker," Tucker finally turns to him.

"Danny, don't you dare tell me it's alright, man. You-- you're not. That's why we'll need to heal you." Tucker scoffs.

Phantom gives him a sad smile. "My... ghost sense is going crazy. I feel... cold." Tucker lets out another string of curses. He looks around him, Danny's jumpsuit began to turn white, just like it had when he entered the portal, bandages scattered generously around and a pinkish substance mixed with the green ectoplasm. The ectoplasm seemed to burn. His eyes hardened as he glared at the Fentons.

"What was in that thing?!"

Madeline Fenton was unfazed. "Supercharged Blood plasma. Extracted from Blood Blossoms, deadly to all ghost scum."

Tucker went ballistic. "You damn idiots!"

"Mr. Foley that is no way to talk to your elders, especially the ones who tried to save your life!"

"No," Tucker hissed. "I'm sorry Danny," he apologized to the teenaged halfa. Secrets be damned.

"Tuck, no," Danny croaked. He felt weaker by the second. _Tuck, no, it'll only hurt them more._

"All this time, all of you are too blind to see. He's hurting too much. All the time. Everyone in this f- freaking place hated him. He tried his best to live as normally as possible. All the scars, all the bad grades, all the sleepless nights--"

"Oh, please! Ghosts don't have the same needs as humans--"

"_JUST FREAKING **LOOK** AT HIM! IT'S **DANNY**!"_ Tucker cried, pointing at his friend. "Now give me **_something_**! The antidote, a portal, a reverser **_ANYTHING_**!!!"

Maddie faltered. "I-I don't... there's no..." _Danny? That's not possible. But... Tucker was..._

"Tucker..." Tucker scoots closer. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. I'm sorry I got you guys h-hurt. I s-should've... I should've--"

"Dude, Danny, come on. You've done so much for us."

"...Sam?"

"She's... she's still at school. They got trapped in the gym but she'll be here soon. Danny, I'm going to have to move you--"

"T-Tuck, you're the best friend I could ever have. You and Sam. Though you always jinx things, Bad Luck Tuck."

"I was a nobody. But you guys made me somebody. That-- that was all that mattered." Danny paused, looking at the swirling sky. Had the sky always been that bright? Had the sky always been a mash of stars and a swirling green abyss?

"I... always wanted to be an astronaut." Phantom chuckled bitterly, "guess it's too late now."

Somewhere in the crowd, a boy's eyes widen in recognition.

"Fenturd?"

The only boy who was never discouraged about his dreams of flying. The boy who wanted to fly amongst the stars.

Everyone's mouths dropped at the revelation. And for the hunters, they drop their weapons. Maddie felt a chill run up her spine. The world felt like it was spinning around her. She felt sick. She could only gaze in horror at the situation she had caused.

"We owe you our lives Danny."

"You guys don't have anything to...owe me. I-I... didn't mind the bullying, the... comments h-hurt but I understood where they came from. I know why... why... you chose this. I had it coming a-all a-along. You don't owe me anything. I don't-- I don't blame you guys for anything..."

"Danny come on dude..."

"Tuck, send me off with a blast okay? I always wanted to be an astronaut... send me off okay, Tuck?"

The air felt heavy.

"Come on dude."

Danny smiled weakly. He core pulsed slower by the minute, Tucker could see it in his eyes. His ghostly glow weakened. He bit his lip.

Danny sighed.

"T... T-m... T-minus 5 seconds." Tucker bit his lip. It was... it was a good estimate for a horrible thing.

Danny blinked.

Then he smiled. Genuinely. And so Tucker began to count down.

"F-four, t-three, two... o-one." Tucker whispered, yet everyone heard. And he hugged him. So tight. "Lift off... Danny."

"Signing off, Danny Fenton."

A bright flash of light. And there was Daniel Fenton.

Maddie cried, she tried to reach for him. Hold him in her arms. Her baby...

"I-if... I had known it was my Danny I wouldn't... I wouldn't have--"

"Not knowing who you kill does not excuse you or ANYONE from MURDER!" Tucker cried. They've finally done it. They made him snap.

"B-but Danny-boy's... he's not... he's alive. He shouldn't--" Jack spoke in broken tongues. "That's not--"

Tucker tightened his grip. "That's why he couldn't tell you. THIS is why he couldn't tell you!" He choked, as he fell on his knees like he was begging for something. And he was. He hung his head low, his cap obscuring his face so that the pavement was the only witness to his grief.

"He was so afraid." He managed, his voice small and quivering. "He was so afraid. Because... because... YOU." He lifted his head and everyone gasped.

Fire. There was fire. There was fire in his eyes. No, it wasn't fire, it was worse. It was way worse than fire. It was more destructive, more vengeful than fire. It was fury. It was rage. It was confusion. It was denial. It was wrath. It was fury.

Or in simpler terms,

It was pain.

"You always--"

'_How could I tell them?! You guys know them. They always_\--'

"--shoot before asking."

"You were so close-minded everytime he wanted to tell you. You never _listened_." The PDA in his hands felt heavy. He always cherished it. It always had everything he needed. But now... it couldn't even save his best friend.

"YOU FU-" He bit his lip, choosing his words. He would show them. Age doesn't mean maturity. He would show them he could act civil (_unlike them_\--). He would show them respect (_unlike what they did to Danny_\--)

He bit his lip with so much rage, he tasted copper. (_He briefly wondered if Danny tasted copper too when they_\--) No. No. He shooed the thoughts away. But he couldn't. (_He wondered if he even tried._) And so he sobbed. And then he broke. He cried. Like a child. Screw this. Screw acting mature. It wasn't worth it.

"You're not worth it."

Maddie falls. "Jack, Oh my Danny, what have I done? What have I done Jack? What have I done... My sweet boy..."

"You don't-- Danny doesn't deserve this." There he was. Talking in the present tense. As if he was still there. As if... as if... He couldn't follow more thoughts. He wanted to shutdown, like a program. He wondered what was the difference between him and lines of code.

"Let me through. Let me through. _MOM, LET ME **GO**!_"

He hears a horrified whisper somewhere to his left. To Danny's left. She falls to his side.

"Nononononono. Danny, oh gosh, Danny, _nonononono_..."

She wore a pastel pink dress, 1 inch heels, a crown, and the weight of death. She was unrecognizable in her school play costume, with her dark-themed eye shadow as the only thing that reminded people of her gothic self. She frantically surveys the surroundings, spotting the laying peacefully beside Tucker's legs.

"Tuck, hand me the kit." She speaks as she begins to rip off Danny's torn HAZMAT suit. There was no reply. "Tuck, hand me the kit." She spoke with more assertion. Again no reply. She curses and snatches the kit with such speed that when she pulls back she stumbles. But she didn't notice. That or she didn't care.

"Danny? Danny, come on, work with me here." She lifts him up gently, and slowly nudges him to lean him on the nearby pole. "Tuck, come on, help me out here." No reply. "_TUCK_!"

He snaps out of his contest with the ground. But he looked at her with empty eyes, with no trace of the fury he had just moments ago.

"Tuck, come on. Danny's fine. He will be fine. Come on, help me out. Danny's going to be fine." She moves him to the pole and reaches for the syringes. The glowing, ectoplasm syringes.

Everyone watched Sam Manson disappear.

"Tuck, I need you to scan him. I need to know how much he needs." Tucker opens his mouth. But she couldn't hear any sound from it.

"TUCKER DO SOMETHING!"

"DANNY'S GONE, SAM!" She winces.

"He's... he's done." Tucker echoes.

"No, he's fine right? He just needs the ectoplasm." Her hand hovers over the syringe. Danny just needs the ectoplasm. He's flatlined before. He's bled out before. She just needs to rescucitate him before she takes care of the wounds. She jabs the needle and injects it into his arm.

"Come on, Danny."

No response. She places her hand over his core. There was no hum. There was no heartbeat.

She jabs another needle. No response.

Another.

"Danny. Danny, come on!" She repeats- she echoes the name in increasing panic. She places her hands on his chest and begins to pump. What was the pattern again? Staying alive, ha, ha, ha, staying alive, staying alive-- (but he couldn't-- no he's going to be okay--) _One Mississippi, Two Mississippi--_

"Danny, come one Danny!"

Four Mississippi, Five Mississippi, Six--

Her heart was pounding in her chest (unlike his--)

It was like a war drum. Echoing in an empty hall.

She didn't notice that her tears were drumming on the pavement too.

_Eight Mississippi--_

_Fifteen Mississippi--_

_Twenty Mississippi--_

Everyone watched as a poor teen tries to revive someone who was long gone. Maddie couldn't speak. Jack couldn't move. Mr. Lancer... Mr. Lancer was on his knees. He didn't want to lose anyone. Not one of his kids.

Then she began pounding at his chest. "DANNY! COME ON!" He can't he can't he can't he can't go like this--

Pounding.

One moment she was pounding at his chest, and a hand grabbed her by the wrists. And she was engulfed in a hug.

"That's enough, Sam. It's enough." She could feel Jazz's heart being crushed.

And then she wailed.

Thunder.

It sounded like thunder, crackling-- splitting the neverending sky.

Only it wasn't.

It was the sound of the roaring hearts. The simultaneous cries. The wails. The mournings. And horrified screams.

Word was, Madeline Fenton went insane.

Jack Fenton, gave up ghost hunting and shut down all their equipments. He destroyed the portal. He visited Madeline everyday.

Valerie Gray convinced her folks to move. She left the mantle of the Red Huntress.

Vlad Masters moved back to Amity, and can be seen walking around aimlessly, at times being drawn to the previous ghost fight hotspots where Phantom and the Wisconsin ghost used to fight. No one knew how lonely the only halfa left in the world was.

Mr. Lancer stayed teaching in Casper High. He didn't care anymore if his 'problematic' students were causing a ruckus. He made sure to talk to them of their problems, to comfort and counsel them. It was an incident he didn't wish to occur again.

Amity decided to erect a statue in Danny Phantom's honor. Everyone would pass by it with sad expressions.

Some of the ghosts decided to haunt some place else. Ember and some others, they stayed put in the Ghost Zone.

Jasmine Fenton pursued her psychology. She felt it was only thing left for her.

Tucker Foley gave up on his PDA, and tried to pursue Biomed. With all the times he and Sam patched Danny up, he thought it was... rather fitting. He'd... save someone else.

And Sam... she went missing.

Some say she ran away, tried to run away from everything. Tried to forget.

Some say she was out there wandering the Ghost Zone, looking for Danny.

Nothing was the same.

A/N: Wait! Before you click away, I wrote this part (the tucker and sam part) before I wrote the introduction where Maddie shoots Danny. The flow feels kinda weird. I've never written something this angsty before, and I was actually scared to write something this heavy (for me. in my opinion that is). i wrote this in about 3 hours so i didn't think about it too much. (k ima sleep now)

I really liked Tucker (even more than Sam) and I think that bled through here though I didn't mean for it to do so. I was supposed to make Sam scream what Tucker said to the Fentons, but I thought Sam was already the screamer in multiple fics. Tucker seemed really... chill? (in my opinion of the show, I haven't watched it since i was a kid) so I thought, what if I made him snap?

There was supposed to be a part where Maddie claims she will shoot Tucker if she has too since it was harmless to.humans and will simply pass through him. Tucker qas supposed to take ecto-goo from the kit (not for medicinal purposes but rather for catching ghosts) and smear it on himself to make Maddie not shoot him since none of them know what happens if she shoots a kid covered in ectoplasm with an anti-ecto gun. Sadly, i couldn't find a place to put it.

k bye for realz ima sleep for realz now (why am i up fhis.late again?)


End file.
